Director for Faith and Public Life
Please Note: The application deadline for this post has now passed.
Post Introduction
The Church of England’s vocation is and always has been to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ afresh in each generation to the people of England. As the Established Church, it has the unique opportunity and responsibility to speak into our national life not just through its churches, chaplaincies, schools and other expressions of church, but also through its position locally and nationally, including through its 26 Lords Spiritual who sit in the House of Lords.
The Faith and Public Life Department is responsible for the national-level engagement of the Church of England with public policy, ethics and political life, relations with other churches and faith communities and theological support for the Church’s concerns. As its Director, you will make a signification contribution to the Church of England’s vision and strategy.
We will be holding a webinar at 2pm on Tuesday 20 August to give you the opportunity to hear more about the role, and ask questions. If you would like to attend, please sign up online.
You can also find more information on our microsite: https://jobs.churchofengland.org/fpldirector
In this role, you will be focused on maximising the opportunities of the Church of England’s unique role as the established Church in bringing a distinctive Christian voice to matters of public policy, public ethics and support for the common good. You will help the Church build and support constructive and collaborative relationships with other churches and faith communities, domestically and globally.
Your role will be to ensure that the team’s work serves the Church’s mission, and to give strategic leadership to a diverse team of highly skilled and experienced staff, liaising closely with the Archbishops’ Council and relevant committees, the Archbishops and bishops and other departments of the National Church Institutions.
You will not be expected to be an expert in every aspect of the Department’s work but will bring depth and wisdom to back up the expertise of your staff team. A good grounding in public and/or political theology and understanding of civil society would be a helpful background to supporting the most fast-moving areas of the team’s work. You will have scope to take the lead in aspects of the work within FPL’s remit, especially where you bring specific experience and expertise.
You'll be a credible interlocutor with bishops, academics and others on the application of theology to public affairs. In order to be successful you will need:
- high-level professional skills in one or more disciplines such as public ethics, government relations, business development, media relations, external relations, or stakeholder communications
- the ability to think theologically, applying a theological understanding of mission and of practical theology to public affairs
- proven experience of building relationships and working collaboratively with leaders in politics, business, or faith networks in order to deliver strategic outcomes
- clear understanding of trends and current/emerging debates in public affairs and faith relations
- good knowledge of the Church of England, its doctrine and its diversity of church tradition, sympathy with its mission and values, and an ability to work across all those church traditions
- experience of leading and creating teams and bringing together high-performing individuals, working together in a complex environment, whilst supporting all staff to build agile, engaged, inclusive, high performing teams.
This post carries an occupational requirement to be a Christian (in accordance with the Equality Act 2010)
We Include, You Belong.
Our Belonging and Inclusion Strategy aims for everyone in the National Church Institutions (NCIs) to feel that they belong, and are valued for who they are and what they contribute. Together, our people contribute in different ways towards our common purpose, whichever NCI they work in and whatever their background.
Living out our values in all that we do, we:
- Strive for Excellence
- Show Compassion
- Respect others
- Collaborate
- Act with Integrity
We believe our commitment to belonging and inclusion fuels our progress and drives us forward. The NCIs are a safe, inclusive workplace for people of all backgrounds and walks of life. We want to encourage applications from a diverse group of people who share our values. Even if you have never thought about working for us before, if you have the skills and experience we’re looking for then we would like to hear from you.
The Church of England is for everyone and we want to reflect the diversity of the community the Church serves across the whole country. Therefore, while of course we welcome all applications from interested and suitably experienced people, we would particularly welcome applicants from UK Minoritised Ethnicities (UKME)/Global Majority Heritage (GMH) and other under-represented groups.
- The closing date for applications is Sunday 1 September 2024
- Interviews are likely to take place in early October
Attached documents
Overview
